You'll love this chocolate zucchini bread recipe! Packed with shredded zucchini and gooey chocolate chips, it's moist, fudgy, and delicious.
This double chocolate zucchini bread is moist, fudgy, and delicious. In the summertime, it’s my favorite way to satisfy a chocolate craving. It tastes just as decadent as a rich chocolate cake, but it’s made with healthier ingredients like whole wheat flour, maple syrup, and zucchini. Eating your vegetables has never tasted so good!
Like my classic zucchini bread recipe, this recipe makes two loaves. They disappear pretty quickly in our house, but if you have extra, pop one loaf in the freezer for another day, or share it with a friend! They (and you) will love this chocolate zucchini bread.
Chocolate Zucchini Bread Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this double chocolate zucchini bread:
- Flour – I use a mix of all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour. They give the bread a perfect moist crumb, plus a little whole grain power.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder – It adds rich chocolate flavor to the batter.
- Baking powder, baking soda, and eggs – They help the bread puff up as it bakes.
- Maple syrup – Many chocolate zucchini bread recipes call for granulated sugar or brown sugar. I sweeten mine with maple syrup instead. It adds a subtle caramel-like flavor that I love.
- Almond milk – For moisture. Oat milk, regular milk, and soy milk would all work well here too.
- Vegetable oil or coconut oil – For moisture and richness.
- Cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla extract – For warm depth of flavor.
- Zucchini – I grate mine on the largest holes of a box grater to get the best moist, zucchini-flecked texture!
- Chocolate chips – You’ll fold some into the batter to add fudginess to the inside of the loaf. Then, you’ll sprinkle more on top.
- And sea salt – To make all the flavors pop!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Chocolate Zucchini Bread
This double chocolate zucchini bread recipe couldn’t be simpler to make! Here’s how it goes:
First, whisk together the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and gently stir to combine.
Fold in the chocolate chips. Look how chocolatey that batter is!!
Pour the batter into two greased loaf pans. Bake at 350°F until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaves comes out clean.
Place the pans on a wire rack, and allow the loaves to cool in the pan before digging in. So easy!
Chocolate Zucchini Bread Recipe Tips
- Be careful not to overmix! As with all baking recipes that use wheat flour, overmixing the batter will make the bread dense. Stir until everything is just combined to get soft, moist, and puffy loaves.
- Bake once, eat twice. This recipe makes two loaves of quick bread. They’ll keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, but they also freeze perfectly. I like to enjoy one right away and slice and freeze the other. To thaw a slice, let it sit out at room temperature for an hour or so, or pop it in the microwave for around 30 seconds.
- Try changing it up! Swap half the chocolate chips for chopped walnuts, pecans, or dried tart cherries. Or, if you have it on hand, use yellow squash in place of the zucchini. Let me know what variations you try!
FAQs
Should you leave the skin on the zucchini when you make this chocolate zucchini bread?
I never peel zucchini when I make zucchini bread. The skin doesn’t affect the bread’s flavor, so I see peeling the zucchini as an unnecessary extra step.
Do you squeeze out the liquid from zucchini for bread?
Nope! While some zucchini bread recipes might ask you to squeeze out the zucchini’s excess moisture, I never will. Zucchini’s magic is that it makes baked goods super moist. We want all the moisture inside it to go into the bread! Simply grate the zucchini on the large holes of a box grater and add it straight to the batter.
More Zucchini Recipes to Try
If you love this chocolate zucchini bread, try one of these delicious zucchini recipes next:
- Zucchini Bread
- Chocolate Zucchini Cake
- Zucchini Muffins
- Zucchini Brownies
- Or any of these 30 Best Zucchini Recipes!
Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup whole wheat flour
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 3 large eggs
- 1½ cups almond milk, at room temperature
- ¼ cup vegetable oil, or melted coconut oil
- ⅔ cup maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups shredded zucchini
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, plus more for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly spray two 8x4” loaf pans with nonstick spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose and whole wheat flours, the cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, almond milk, oil, maple syrup, and vanilla. Stir in the zucchini. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Don’t overmix. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pans. Sprinkle with more chocolate chips and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the tops spring back to the touch. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
Delicious! I made this before a camping trip and it was a big hit. The batter made 6 cakelets (I have a fall themed cakelet pan) and 4 mini loaves. I brought two mini loaves to work and received approval and praise from my coworkers (I am a dietitian and work in an office with 9 other RDs). I substituted regular 1% milk and vegetable oil. I usually keep shredded zucchini in the freezer which work great to thaw and drain off excess moisture. I will definitely make again! 🙂
Hi Allison, I’m so so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for the tip about the frozen zucchini (I have a bunch in my freezer too!)
This bread was awesome! Very moist and tasty. I love that the zucchini just melts away into the loaf, disguising it from my child who will not eat veggies!
Can I use all purpose flour? I wasn’t sure how much white to wheat flour to use.
Is there any way we could remove the eggs to make this recipe vegan?
Hi Coco, I haven’t tested this recipe without eggs, but I have a vegan version of regular zucchini bread: https://www.loveandlemons.com/zucchini-bread/ and this vegan zucchini cake is similar: https://www.loveandlemons.com/chocolate-zucchini-cake/
Hope that helps!
Thank you!
I’ve had this saved in my to do list since you posted it on Instagram. Finally made it tonight and it’s delicious! This will definitely be made again!
Amazing and delicious and beautiful too! I added dry tart cherries and topped it with chopped pecans and shaved bits of dark chocolate!
Made this recipe today and turned out wonderfully! I’m planning on freezing the second loaf and would love your recommendation for thawing/preparing post freezing?
Hi Emily, I’m so glad you loved it! The slow way would be to freeze the whole loaf and thaw it in the fridge or at room temp until fully thawed. Personally, I like to slice the second loaf and freeze it in individual slices. When the craving hits, I thaw one in the microwave for 30 seconds or so. Hope that helps!
Is the amount of baking powder correct? I’ve checked a couple other recipes and none of them call for that much baking powder. Just want to double check!
Yep, it is – it helps it really rise well!
The found the recipe to be slightly tinny tasting! I might try less baking powder next time.
Hi Katie, try aluminum free baking powder – I never have that issue.
Ah ok – great tip! Thanks so much.
I want to make this today and have everything except the chocolate chips. I have lots of baking and eating chocolate bars – can I sub with some of those? Thx!
Hi Irene – yep, I would chop up one of those chocolate bars – a semi-sweet or dark chocolate one (not unsweetened chocolate or the bread will be too bitter).
My family scarfed it up. Loved it!
This was so delicious! I halved it and did one egg and half almond flour half wheat ratio! Turned out great with dark cocoa powder & dark Ghirardelli chocolate mini chips & used brown sugar & whole milk since I didn’t have other ingredients!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!!
Can this be baked with gluten free flour options?
Hi Gaby, an all-purpose gluten free flour (I like Pamela’s), could work but I haven’t tested it this way.
I loved the topic you wrote on. It was an amazing ride of some great work.
I’m having trouble finding where to purchase 8”x4” loaf pans. Where did you get yours? Thanks for your help.
I have these: https://amzn.to/2Zp3DmM
and also the gold bakeware ones from Williams Sonoma. It’s a standard size so they should be available at most stores that sell bakeware. I hope that helps!
Thanks so much for your help! I made this and it is exceptional. Thanks!
Hi Susan, I’m so glad you loved it!
Just made this. Husband loves, said I had to leave a review.
ha ha, I’m so glad you both loved it! Thank you for leaving a review!!
In one place you mention using the largest holes in the grater; in another you suggest finely grated zukes. Which do you prefer?
Apologies, I meant to take out the word “finely”… I grate it with the large holes of a regular box cutter.
What a beautiful zucchini bread! Looks so delicious and perfect for weekend brunch!
Has anyone made this with vegan egg replacer instead of eggs?
I know, right? A vegan, gluten free version of this perfect loaf?! I’m gong to play with it, but cut the recipe in half first. Eating the mistakes isn’t always that fun ?. Looks soooo amazing Jeanine, thank you!
I did! It turned out great. I also omitted the chocolate chips cause my son and I disagree on dark vs milk 🙂
Hi Jeanine! This looks amazing! Quick question– should you squeeze some of the moisture out of the zucchini first before adding it to the batter, or does it go straight in? Thanks!
Hi Arianna – nope, it goes straight in this time, no squeezing necessary!
Thank you! I just made the recipe but in muffin form. They are delicious and so quick and easy to put together! Thanks for a great recipe!
can I make this gluten free? maybe substitute Pamela’s gluten free flour? thanks
I was just wondering the same thing!
Nice sharing, thank you for the post
Hi Colleen, I haven’t tried it with this recipe, but I’ve always had good luck using Pamela’s flour. Can you let me know if you give it a go?